James 1:1-8

Now please turn back to the letter of James. Page 1011. Let's pray one more time as we come to God's word. Let's pray one more time as we come to God's word. Let's pray.

Father speak in these moments we pray. Do that work in our hearts by your Holy Spirit that we need.

And change us to be more like your son because we ask it in his name. Amen.

Graham Linehan, the comedian, you might know his work, most famous work is Father Ted.

He was cancelled recently by the comedy community that he belonged to for taking a stand against the trans issue.

And for Graham Linehan, his refusal to back down on the simple point that children should not be mutilated for ideological reasons cost him his marriage, his professional reputation, and his livelihood.

Now Linehan is an atheist so we view the world in very different ways.

But for his resolve to stand against the madness of the culture on this point, I admire him.

But as I was listening to an interview with him recently, I was kind of struck or it occurred to me that his case poses a challenge and raises a question.

A challenge and a question for the church in these days in which we live.

The challenge comes in his willingness to stand up at huge personal cost.

He lost his marriage, his livelihood, and his professional reputation.

And he did that because he believes that there are things that are right and things that are wrong and things that are true and things that aren't true.

And it struck me.

Am I prepared to be so courageous?

Are we prepared to be so courageous?

It's a challenge.

The question that his case raises is, well, as the church of Jesus Christ, how should we live?

As the people of God, how should we live in a culture that does this kind of thing?

In a culture that is shaped and informed in this way?

Aaron Wren is an American social commentator who you can come across online, AaronWren.com.

He has observed how the church has been received, particularly in the American context, but in Western culture, how the church has been received over the last several decades.

And he has developed this way of thinking about the church and the culture.

And he describes it as a positive, a neutral, and a negative world.

So the positive, he thinks there was a time when being a Christian was viewed in the culture as a positive thing.

In so far as if you put, I belong to a church on your CV, that would be of benefit to you.

That would be viewed positively.

If you wrote church elder on your CV, well, they would take you very seriously.

That was the positive world.

Then there was a shift.

The neutral world was a time when being a Christian was viewed as neither here nor there.

That was okay for you if that's what you're into, but it's not for me.

It might be church for you.

It's golf for me.

It might be church for you.

It might be new atheism for me, whatever it is.

But most importantly, actually, that was fine.

We could agree to differ.

We could have arguments.

We could disagree.

But we would all largely get along.

That was the neutral world.

But Ren talks about the shift that has happened more recently.

Now, he's writing in an American context, and he ties it to particular points in American history recently.

But I think the way of viewing things works really well for all of us.

The negative world is where we are now.

There's been another shift.

And what that means is that being a Christian puts you at a cultural disadvantage.

We're no longer viewed just as a bit dumb.

We're dangerous.

We're no longer thick.

We are a threat.

And where there's a danger and where there's a threat, what happens?

Well, that needs to be driven out.

And so there's hostility.

We face, in our day, hostility like we haven't experienced for over a century in this country.

You are more likely than ever, more likely than ever probably in the last century,

to be ostracized by your friendship group and dubbed as a bigot

because your allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ won't allow you to cheer along at the things that the culture cheers along at.

Because you can't endorse what the Lord Jesus refuses to endorse.

Because you won't do that, you're a bigot.

You're more likely than ever to find yourself in a disciplinary hearing at work or perhaps even to lose your job

because your allegiance to truth means that you won't play along with the lie around, for example,

what is a man and what is a woman.

I was talking to somebody just last night who, in their job, if they are to be promoted to the next level,

they have to not just kind of accept that this is part of the work,

but they have to endorse a particular policy that as a Christian they're not able to endorse.

So there is a ceiling now.

If you're going to be a faithful Christian, in his industry there is a ceiling over which you can't climb.

And you will be inevitably vilified for holding the view and refusing to endorse that.

Persecution, rejection, struggles.

This is the negative world.

And the letter of James, to say written by the apostle, was written to Christians in such a world.

Verse 1, when he defines his audience as the 12 tribes in the dispersion,

he is writing to Jewish Christians who are mentioned in Acts,

just after the martyrdom of Stephen in Acts chapter 7.

Acts 7 · chapter mention

So in Acts 8 chapter 1, Acts 8 chapter 4, Acts 11, he talks about those who were dispersed.

They were pushed off into exile around the time because they were followers of Jesus.

They're among the first converts to Christianity.

James refers to them, you see down in verse 18 here, as firstfruits.

The word that he uses there is the same word the apostle Paul uses in Romans 16,

and again in 1 Corinthians 16,

to refer to the first group of believers in a particular area.

These are amongst the very first believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in the history of the church.

And they are driven out of Jerusalem by the overzealous Jewish religious establishment

simply because they follow Christ.

They left their homes, their work, and their communities under pressure from a religio-political system

intent on bringing them back to Judaism by any means possible,

including things like killing others like Stephen,

kind of violence and torture that saw him killed.

And James writes to address the problems that have arisen because of this pressure,

because of this opposition.

Pressure and opposition bring out the worst in us.

On the one hand, or they can bring out the worst in us.

On the one hand, it can make us fight in the wrong kind of way.

So our anger at injustice, our frustration at abuse,

sort of thing that is happening here in chapter 1, verse 19,

can lead us to respond in kind.

So we pursue life on the same terms as our opponents.

We operate by the same values, chapter 2 in James.

When we are criticized, chapter 3, we fight back with a tongue lashing of our own.

And this includes chapters 4 and 5,

turning on our allies who we don't think are really engaged in the fight the way they should be.

Because they don't see things the way we do, we turn on them.

Question their commitment, question their faithfulness.

So on the one hand, pressure can make us fight in the wrong way.

On the other hand, there is a temptation to completely capitulate,

to roll over because of fear or because simply we don't want the hassle.

To say chapter 2, James chapter 2, what's going on there is to say that we still believe,

James 2 · chapter mention

but we step back from the fight.

To still believe, but become indistinct from the world around us.

Because it's too awkward.

We don't want the hassle or we're scared.

Or we care about certain things so much that we're prepared to step back from faithfulness.

We say we still believe, we still go through the motions,

we might have a very kind of somewhat consistent private faith,

but we're unprepared to take the stand that we need to.

When James talks in chapter 1, verse 27, have a look down there,

verse 27, he talks about being unstained by the world.

What he's saying is we can't imbibe the same mindset as the culture.

A culture in the context that he's talking about here,

where it's okay to ignore widows and orphans,

to see them as an inconvenience rather than a responsibility.

Where lines are drawn between the wealthy and the poor.

Chapter 2, it runs all the way through the letter actually.

And where selfishness rules the day.

To be unstained by the world is to take a different mindset to those kind of values.

So for James' hearers, this letter is a call to obedience

in the face of a kind of opposition

that is drawing them into destructive ways of thinking and acting.

They need to decide which way they'll go.

And so do we.

Now we might wish it was otherwise,

but depending on our personality,

this is how we instinctively react, isn't it?

We fight like the culture, or we blend in with the culture.

Think about the way things went down during COVID.

The church was under pressure in a really pronounced way.

The state told us we couldn't meet.

Many thought we could meet.

Many thought we shouldn't meet.

How those two groups behaved,

and how they treated each other particularly within church fellowships,

was not the church's finest hour.

So how do we respond to the growing tide of opposition?

When you do experience this kind of rejection,

the rejection of those around you that costs you something more than just your pride.

It's no longer the case that we're just a bit offended,

or we feel a bit rebuffed by others,

but actually it costs us more than that.

What happens when the state is reaching into your business?

It's this great behemoth that has established itself as both Lord,

that is, you must obey,

and Savior.

When you get into trouble, we're the ones that will help you.

When we live in that context,

how do we respond?

What do we do with the anger that we feel towards legalized abortion,

or our despair in the face of...

What do we do when we despair in the face of the mutilation of children

who are confused about their gender?

These are relevant questions.

So,

we need this letter

to remind us what it means to live in exile.

We need to be reminded

what it means to live faithfully in exile.

And James begins,

he begins his instruction by calling us

to settle in our hearts and minds

three convictions

that need to frame

how we think

and how we act

in the negative world.

Three convictions

that need to frame

how we think and act

in the negative world,

and these convictions will underpin

almost everything else he says

in the letter.

Joy,

dependence,

and faith.

Dependence and faith

sound similar.

I hope the distinction will become clear

as we go through.

Joy,

dependence,

and faith.

If we get these in place,

they'll help us with much of everything else

that James has to say.

Point number one,

joy.

He says,

rejoice in trials

because of what they are achieving.

Verse two,

count it all joy,

my brothers,

when you meet trials of various kinds.

For you know that the testing of your faith

produces steadfastness.

And let steadfastness have its full effect

that you may be perfect

and complete,

lacking in nothing.

Remember,

he's saying this to people

who have lost everything.

Those are the kind of trials

that he's talking about.

He's not specific about the nature of the trials.

They are various.

And he doesn't suggest

that we rejoice

in the actual suffering itself.

Rejection and persecution

aren't themselves

things to enjoy.

We don't experience rejection

and suffering

and think,

ha,

wonderful.

But they are,

James' hearers,

are to rejoice

in the process

of suffering trials

and testing

because of what that process

is accomplishing.

James doesn't want his hearers

to walk into the fire,

but he does want them

to rejoice

when they feel its flames

because under God,

these trials are taking them

to a destination.

Verse 3,

for you know that the testing

of your faith

produces steadfastness.

Spiritual steadfastness

is what we all need.

Endurance.

The word has the connotations

of perseverance,

spiritual toughness.

This is what is required

if we will faithfully serve God

all the way to the end

in a culture like ours.

How do we get that toughness?

We get that toughness

by being put through trials

and prevailing.

Now,

we understand what this is like

in the physical realm.

If you're going to get fitter

or you're going to get stronger,

you need to do things

that are difficult.

You need to do things

that are a trial.

Things that you feel at first

that you can't accomplish.

whether it's lifting weights

or going for a walk

or going for a run

or whatever it might be.

At the start,

you feel weak

and it's painful.

But it's the process

that makes you grow.

And if you're going to grow,

if you're going to get stronger,

you're going to get fit,

there is no other way

to get there

and there's no shortcut.

Our trials make us feel weak.

Our trials are painful.

But if we receive them from God

as his means of growing us up,

we can rejoice

that we're actually getting stronger.

And it's that kind of spiritual strength

that will lead us to maturity.

Verse 4,

and let steadfastness have its full effect

that you may be perfect.

The word literally means mature

and complete,

lacking in nothing.

Trials create steadfastness

and steadfastness in turn

creates maturity.

I was saying to the children

before in their bit

of Sunday school this morning,

it's the same with anything we do

that we need to learn

in order to grow.

Think about when you were learning

to write,

holding a pen,

drawing the letters.

It was really tedious.

It was really difficult.

Your hand got sore.

But what invariably happens

over time,

you go through that process,

and it's no longer a struggle.

You're much more competent.

You're mature

and able to write.

That is what the process accomplishes.

And this is what,

this maturity is what James' hearers,

what all of us are going to need,

we're going to be effective

as agents of Christ

in his coming kingdom.

So trials,

I don't know what you're going through

at the moment.

This may be very relevant

for you right now,

but it's important to say

that trials are not a sign

that God is annoyed with you

or that he's picking on you.

Quite the opposite.

In fact,

one of the striking things

about this letter

is how much James

is simply echoing

the words of Jesus.

I've chosen this series

to follow the Sermon on the Mount

for this reason.

So remember,

Matthew chapter 5,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

blessed are you

when others revile you

and persecute you

and utter all kinds of evil

against you falsely

on my account.

Rejoice

and be glad

for your reward

is great in heaven

for so they persecuted

the prophets

who were before you.

Rejoice in trials

because this is the way

that it has always been,

James is saying.

And he isn't,

by quoting Jesus here,

he isn't just trying

to give authority

to what he's saying.

He's also calling to mind

the first command

that Jesus gives

to anyone

who will be his disciple.

Do you remember?

If anyone

will come after me,

let him deny himself

and take up his cross

and follow me.

Discipleship 101

is the suffering

of the cross-shaped path

that Jesus walked.

It is the path

of mockery

and rejection

and suffering

because that is the path

that Jesus walked.

And that is exactly

the path

that James' hearers

are experiencing.

This is

the Christian life.

And it's the Christian life

because it was Christ's life.

So Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10,

Hebrews 2:10

For it was fitting

that he, God,

for whom and by whom

all things exist,

in bringing many sons

to glory,

should make the founder

of their salvation perfect.

How?

Through suffering.

Hebrews 5 verse 8,

Hebrews 5:8

Although he was a son,

the Lord Jesus,

he learned obedience

through what he suffered.

And being made perfect,

being matured,

he was designed,

designated by God,

a high priest

after the order

of Melchizedek.

Trials are the means

God uses to mature,

to perfect all his children.

As it was for Christ,

so it is for us.

Trials are how he gets us

off our training wheels

into maturity

and onto completeness,

to glory.

And it has to be this way.

It has to be this way

because it was that way

for Jesus.

If we want the resurrection glory,

we have to go

the way of the cross.

If we want vindication on life,

we have to go

the way of humiliation

and death.

The one inevitably

precedes the other.

And this is why

we don't despair

in the negative world.

Look,

if this world

is all there is

and we aren't

in the hands

of a sovereign God

who is our loving

Heavenly Father,

then all the apocalyptic

rhetoric that permeates

our culture

is completely understandable.

The nihilism

that I hear

in lots of social commentary

makes sense

in the negative world

without God.

But that's not

our posture

as the church.

That is not

the posture

of followers

of the Lord Jesus Christ

because our trials

have a goal.

They come in all

shapes and sizes.

The way we get

misrepresented,

the lies and the abuse,

the exclusion

and the injustice,

the state sticking

its nose into our families,

the torpedoing

of our career ambitions,

and the damage

that the stress

of all of that

does to our physical

and emotional health.

all of those trials,

in all of this,

God is refining us

and he's strengthening us

and he's growing us up

on our way to glory

and that's why we rejoice.

Yes, we feel weak.

Yes, we feel like

it's hopeless.

But it's not.

It's like

when you've been able

to lift a certain weight

on the bench press

for however long

it's been

and you put more weight on

and you think,

oh, I've got weaker.

But gradually

you're able to lift it,

you get stronger.

God is refining us

and strengthening us

and he's growing us up

as he gets us to glory.

Rejoice because

of what your trials

are accomplishing.

But of course,

this response

doesn't come naturally

to us.

In fact,

it sounds a bit crazy

to talk about joy

in that context

which is why

we need to read on.

What do we do

and we can't rejoice?

Well, here's

our second point.

Depend.

Depend.

Go to God

for wisdom

to see trials

this way.

Verse 5,

if any of you

lacks wisdom,

let him ask God

who gives generously

to all without reproach

and it will be given him.

Now, you'll know this verse

because anytime you're not sure

what to do in life,

some well-meaning soul

will have reminded you of it.

Ask for wisdom.

God will give it.

This verse isn't

about asking God

for guidance

about how to make plans

or about how to navigate

a tricky life situation.

It is about asking

for the ability

to see your circumstances

accurately

and to keep trusting God

with joy

in whatever trials

you're facing.

James is very practical.

He knows

that you'll only be able

to do this

if the Lord enables you.

There is something

unnatural

about rejoicing

in hardship

and in trials.

So we need God

to give us wisdom

that we might see

our circumstances

and see not just

our circumstances

but the whole picture,

the whole world

that we might have

our worldview

framed by God.

When did you last

ask the Lord

for wisdom

in this way?

When trials close in

when we're suffering

we usually cry out

to God for grace

maybe or mercy

but when did you last

ask him

for wisdom?

Not knowledge

or intelligence

or the ability

to understand

more theology.

Those are all good things

of course.

Not an end

to trials.

Not asking God

for a life

of comfort.

When did you last

ask him

for wisdom?

It is a prayer

did you see

that he promises

to answer?

It will be given.

And did you notice

as well

he gives it generously.

And we need to see

that when we ask

for wisdom

we're asking

for something

very practical.

And I don't just mean

I know the old trope

knowledge is knowing

a tomato is a fruit

wisdom is knowing

not to put it

in a fruit salad.

Ha ha.

I know.

I understand that.

Very practical.

No.

What he's doing here

remember his audience.

James' audience

is from a Jewish background

and in Jewish mind

wisdom

meant the sort of

practical righteousness

that God required

for everyday life.

Which is why we have

the book of Proverbs

for example.

That kind of

very practical righteousness

for everyday life.

Wisdom is a life

lived God's way.

A life lived

according to God's

purpose and will.

A life lived

to please him.

And the ability

to do that

is what we ask for

when we ask

for wisdom.

When you're being

squeezed

by the culture

this is actually

what you need.

When there are

tough ethical

decisions to be made

so when you have

competing demands

as it were

that are upon you

as a Christian

so on the one hand

you're called to provide

for your family

and on the other hand

you're called to not

glorify God

and not glorify

those things

that God says

you can't glorify

you know

there's a tough

ethical decision

to be made there

you need wisdom.

You need wisdom

in order to do

the right thing

in order to live

obediently.

When you're praying

for someone

who's struggling

this is what

you should ask

for them.

When you're supporting

someone through

hard times

this is where

you should point them.

When life

is harder

than hard

ask God

for wisdom

for the ability

as John Calvin

says

to submit to him

in the endurance

of evils

under a due

conviction

that he so

orders all things

as to promote

our salvation.

Calvin is saying

is

you're asking him

that you

can submit to God

in and through

this whole situation

trusting

that the trials

that you're going

through

are growing you up.

they are his means

of getting you

to glory.

John Newton

said everything

is needful

that he sends

nothing can be

needful

that he withholds.

When we pray

for wisdom

we are asking

to be able

to say that

of our trials

and do it

with conviction.

Nothing

is

everything

is needful

that he sends.

That trial

that has come

into your life

that opposition

that persecution

the Lord

thinks you need it.

The infinitely

wise God

thinks that

you need it

in order

to make you

holy.

And those things

that he keeps

from you

that you think

you want

nothing can be

needful

that he withholds.

He deems that

at the moment

you don't need it.

And so when we

ask for wisdom

we are asking

to be able

to say that

of our trials.

You say

no

no

can't do that.

I can't

do that

and

I'm angry

actually

with him

that he's

put me here.

Well you're

right in one

sense

you can't

rejoice in

trials in

your own

strength

but if we

ask God

he gives us

what we need

and he gives

it generously.

So let's

ask him

for what

he's promised.

Whatever

opposition

you're facing

simply because

you're a

Christian

ask God

for wisdom

he has

promised

that he'll

give it.

But there

is a

condition

do you

see that?

Verse 6

there is a

condition

and here's

our third

conviction

but let him

ask in faith

with no

doubting

for the one

who doubts

is like a

wave of the

sea that is

driven and

tossed by

the wind

for that

person must

not suppose

that he will

receive anything

from the

Lord

he is a

double minded

man unstable

in all his

ways.

Point number

three we need

faith.

We need to

genuinely trust

God.

Remember

Jesus Matthew

21

21

if you have

faith and

do not

doubt you

will receive

whatever you

ask for in

prayer.

Asking for

wisdom requires

us to have

faith that God

knows what

he's doing

that his

promises are

true that he

is making us

steadfast and

this is what we

actually need.

In our trials

there is a big

difference between

asking God

please take this

struggle away I

don't want it and

please give me

wisdom to endure

in faith.

one is about

your personal

comfort the

other is

acknowledging God's

providence and

the trial is a

necessary and

good thing for

you.

One has you at

the center the

other has God

at the center.

And if we ask

for wisdom when we

really want comfort

if we ask for

wisdom we don't

really think that

that's what we

need we're not

going to get it.

So the trials

won't achieve

their aim and

we end up stuck

and that's when

bitterness sets in

and resentment

and we spiral.

James's imagery

here describes us

as double-minded

now he'll revisit

this idea later

and so will we

Lord willing.

He's saying we're

blown all over the

place.

When we don't

have the wisdom

that we need

we're blown all

over the place

looking two ways

at once.

The double-minded

person literally

two-souled

person one that

trusts God and

one that doesn't

John Bunyan

Pilgrim's Progress

describes this

person as

Mr. Facing

Both Ways.

If our trials

don't push us

to rest on the

truth on the

promises of God

there will be no

calmness in our

soul and no

life of joy.

James isn't

demanding perfect

faith.

There's no such

thing.

Neither is he

dismissing the

person who is

genuinely wrestling

with doubt.

He's not seeking

to say it's all

easy and this is a

simple formula that

you follow on

happy days.

He is simply

warning the person

who doesn't really

think that they

need wisdom or

the person that

doesn't believe that

God is good and

can be trusted

through their

trials.

It's easy to

say the right

things even in

some cases to

pray the right

words but for

our hearts to

be divided to

face two ways.

It's easy for

our desire for

comfort to be in

the driving seat to

the degree that we

back off from the

faithfulness that

God calls us to

because it is too

hard.

We need to be

honest with

ourselves.

Perhaps we need

to repent when

this is the case

and to ask the

Lord for wisdom.

He delights to

give it.

And do you see

he delights to

give it by the

bucket load.

One theologian

says this,

God's picture

brimming with

wisdom is tilted

over us.

He is the God

who continuously

gives and he is

waiting for us to

ask.

He gives it with

ladles like all of

his blessings.

Not with

teaspoons but with

bucket loads.

So ask him.

Depend on him.

in total faith that

he will supply what

you need to grow

you to maturity and

to get you to

glory.

Then the trials of

the negative world

will achieve what

God intends.

And you can rejoice

as you grow on and

on and on to

maturity.

Joy,

dependence,

and faith.

Let's pray

together.

Thank you.